CVE-2026-64017: blk-mq: pop cached request if it is usable

Severity: high (CVSS 7.8 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.1% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-07-19 · updated 2026-10-30
Weakness: CWE-416

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: blk-mq: pop cached request if it is usable When submitting a bio to blk-mq, if the task should sleep after peeking a cached request, but before it pops it, the plug flushes and calls blk_mq_free_plug_rqs, freeing the cached_rqs. This creates a use-after-free bug. Fix this by popping the cached request before any possible blocking calls if it is suitable for use. Popping this request first holds a queue reference, so avoid any serialization races with queue freezes and can safely proceed with dispatching that request to the driver. This potentially increases a timing window from when a driver wants to freeze its queue to when requests stop being dispatched. That scenario is off the fast path though, and drivers need to appropriately handle requests during a freeze request anyway. The downside is the popped element needs to be individually freed when we performed a bio plug merge. The cached request would have had to be freed later anyway, but this patch does it inline with building the plug list instead of after flushing it.

Affected products

Linux kernel: from 6.1.72 before 6.2; from 6.1.75 before 6.2; from 6.5.13 before 6.6; from 6.6.3 before 6.7; from 6.6.14 before 6.7; from 6.7.1 before 6.12.104 — fixed in 6.2, 6.6, 6.7, 6.12.104, 6.18.45, 7.0.11
Linux: from 6.1.72 before 6.1.191; from 6.6.3 before 6.6.161; from 6.5.13 before 6.6 — fixed in 6.1.191, 6.6.161, 6.6

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 6.2, 6.6, 6.7, 6.12.104; Linux 6.1.191, 6.6.161, 6.6. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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